USMNT 2022

[Napoleon 8,707]

17 minutes ago, kingkoopa6 said:

Playing only 2 defenders on the back line would be a brave move. Especially if Jedi is considered the second defender.

I feel like this lineup would give up at least 3 goals, especially since Dest is really only about 5'5". If the opponent has a right winger who knows how to cross the ball, we would be dead at the back post.

[LurkingHorn 1,072]

2 hours ago, Captain Ron said:

If we open with those two games, we are fucked. Draw-Loss will not get us through. I wouldn't be shocked to see a boring 1-1 draw between Wales and England to KO the US. no, we need at least 2 points coming out of games 1 and 2 to give ourselves a chance. Frankly, I think we need to do everything we can to beat Wales and make the England game of no-consequence.

I'm not so sure we're screwed with that result in the first two. Wales is going to have their depth tested while playing England the 3rd game. I'm not sure how Wales is going to score on them, to be honest. 

But I agree, we need to have 3 points going into the England game so we can rotate the squad. The thing that has always screwed us in the past is we've had to work so hard to get out of the group and we have nothing left in the tank for the knockouts stages. 

[Napoleon 8,707]

Here are what some of the YouTubers think of the Uruguay v USMNT match.

Tactical Manager a youth coach getting his badges (started after the sponsor & intro): ~9 minutes

 

Max Bretos former ESPN anchor and current LAFC announcer: ~17 minutes

 

Jake (in London getting his UEFA coaching badges) & a It's Called Soccer (formerly "FIFAmerica") roundtable with Sam from The Yank Report and a 3rd Guy (Brian in Germany): ~50 minutes

 

[Captain Ron 12,932]

20 minutes ago, LurkingHorn said:

I'm not so sure we're screwed with that result in the first two. Wales is going to have their depth tested while playing England the 3rd game. I'm not sure how Wales is going to score on them, to be honest. 

But I agree, we need to have 3 points going into the England game so we can rotate the squad. The thing that has always screwed us in the past is we've had to work so hard to get out of the group and we have nothing left in the tank for the knockouts stages. 

 

 

I'm pretty much flat saying that England and Wales will conspire to KO the US given the chance.

[LurkingHorn 1,072]

1 hour ago, Captain Ron said:

 

 

I'm pretty much flat saying that England and Wales will conspire to KO the US given the chance.

Well I guess there’s only one thing left to do then…

[Juicy 727]

2 hours ago, kingkoopa6 said:

I think that backline would get absolutely abused. Robinson and Dest both push up and that would leave Zimmerman back there on an island. 

[Braff Zacklin 13,667]

9 minutes ago, Juicy said:

I think that backline would get absolutely abused. Robinson and Dest both push up and that would leave Zimmerman back there on an island. 

Yes, that would be the "9 goal minimum" defense, with Chiles should starts at keeper.

[Ted Lange 16,144]

I would like to see CP, Weah, Reyna, Aaronson and Wes all play together.   Now the chance of all of them being healthy at any given time is like 1/482….  To get them all on at the same time, that means Musah is a sub.  But I’d love to see 70 minutes of those guys together at some point. 

[Napoleon 8,707]

51 minutes ago, Ted Lange said:

I would like to see CP, Weah, Reyna, Aaronson and Wes all play together.   Now the chance of all of them being healthy at any given time is like 1/482….  To get them all on at the same time, that means Musah is a sub.  But I’d love to see 70 minutes of those guys together at some point. 

Harlem Globetrotters / NBA All-Star Game type of lineup.

[Ted Lange 16,144]

Looks like I’m not the only one….LOL

 

[UDontKnow 10,451]

2 minutes ago, Ted Lange said:

Looks like I’m not the only one….LOL

 

USMNT is playing the Spice Boyz this Friday in Austin. This is a perfect time to try such a formation. 

They can call it a double false 9, but to me it's just two strikers pushed out wide to give some space for attacking midfielders. 

[Braff Zacklin 13,667]

20 hours ago, UDontKnow said:

USMNT is playing the Spice Boyz this Friday in Austin. This is a perfect time to try such a formation. 

They can call it a double false 9, but to me it's just two strikers pushed out wide to give some space for attacking midfielders. 

It's an old-fashioned 4-4-2 except the two strikers aren't really strikers ... 

I'm on board, although I reserve the right to be revisionist and insist it was a stupid idea if it goes horribly wrong.

[Texasborn91 968]

10 minutes ago, Braff Zacklin said:

It's an old-fashioned 4-4-2 except the two strikers aren't really strikers ... 

I'm on board, although I reserve the right to be revisionist and insist it was a stupid idea if it goes horribly wrong.

Can’t be worse than the Tyler Adams RB fiasco 

[Captain Ron 12,932]

Lol 

 

 

[Napoleon 8,707]

2 hours ago, Captain Ron said:

Lol 

 

 

#TRUEFF

[shnsajax 3,592]

It's an old-fashioned 4-4-2 except the two strikers aren't really strikers ... 
I'm on board, although I reserve the right to be revisionist and insist it was a stupid idea if it goes horribly wrong.

Flashback back to the 90’s and going to Hastings to read the newest monthly 4-4-2. That was the shit!

[Ted Lange 16,144]

Or more of a 442 diamond

Pulisic - Weah

——-Gio

Aaronson—-Wes

——Adams 

 

[Ted Lange 16,144]

Also it’s probably already been posted, but in case it wasn’t 

https://worldsoccertalk.com/2022/05/09/usmnt-world-cup-shirts-leaked-online/

[Captain Ron 12,932]

 

 

Horvath is their current #2, so this is something to watch ...

[Juicy 727]

2 hours ago, Ted Lange said:

Also it’s probably already been posted, but in case it wasn’t 

https://worldsoccertalk.com/2022/05/09/usmnt-world-cup-shirts-leaked-online/

Not great. 

[ztejas 43,552]

Aw hell.

[Napoleon 8,707]

28 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Aw hell.

“Austin Puto”

-JNip’s dad, probably 

[Captain Ron 12,932]

Maybe it’s a ploy. Pulisic thinks if he’s the requisite bleach blond, they can leave the turnover merchant back in Dallas. 

[Napoleon 8,707]

4 hours ago, Captain Ron said:

Maybe it’s a ploy. Pulisic thinks if he’s the requisite bleach blond, they can leave the turnover merchant back in Dallas. 

Rewatched the game last night. (Tuesday night)

Arriola got absolutely no service, was a constant pest, probably made about 3 or 4 tackles, including a sick move on a slide tackle with a steal and spin near the sideline that left the Uruguayan on the ground on the wrong side of the sideline and Arriola dribbling and then passing in an effort to quickly advance the ball.

People are going to be disappointed, but I would bet that Gregg was very pleased with Arriola's performance against Uruguay. 

[Zepol87 9,198]

The euro casuals won't accept that at all. Especially casual @Braff Zacklin

[Braff Zacklin 13,667]

Sick burn.

I don't think much of Arriola's skillset (because it doesn't exist), but I'm not part of the anti-MLS league. I just thought your comments the other night were ridiculous.

[Zepol87 9,198]

They weren't but you went personal so fuck you

[Braff Zacklin 13,667]

Naw. Was just surprised to see you so over-the-top angry because others here were ripping on one of your FC Dallas players. You're normally very mellow.

If noting that seemed "personal" to you then, hey, way to prove me wrong.

[Zepol87 9,198]

Lol ok yea Lopez wasn't personal at all 

[Braff Zacklin 13,667]

I've called you Lopez many times, even dating back TOS. Your handle is "Zepol" ... not much of a leap.

I've also called retsevlys "Sylvester" for the same reason. Don't really think that's doxxing anyone, but keep the bitch mode going, man.

[Zepol87 9,198]

No idea what the second name is at all but yea not personal at all lol. 

[ztejas 43,552]

Pulisic dyed his hair and y'all in here fighting about Nipple. Focus, people. 

[Napoleon 8,707]

1 hour ago, ztejas said:

Pulisic dyed his hair and y'all in here fighting about Nipple. Focus, people. 

Okay...

Pulisic's hair looks really stupid...

...but not as stupid as his 125 pound ass sporting a full sleeve. 

I hope that we have what it takes to take down Grenada. They've been the real deal! (They did score twice against El Salvador, which is more than we scored against them in 2 games combined in qualifying, so there's that.)

 

But they also lost to Andorra 1-0 and couldn't score against Gibraltar. ZERO GOALS in 2 matches against Andorra (pop 79,500), who probably struggles to find flat space for soccer fields in their valley(s) in the fucking Pyrenees and Gibraltar (pop. 34,000 over 2.4 sq mi).

We can do this! 

I'm just not sure if Pulisic's new hairstyle is going to help or hurt the team.

I wonder if Gio is taking everyone out on the town now that he's the USMNT's Mayor of Austin.

[Napoleon 8,707]

 

. . . it's all about nailing down the fundamentals.

#Watke

[Captain Ron 12,932]

8 hours ago, Napoleon said:

Rewatched the game last night. (Tuesday night)

Arriola got absolutely no service, was a constant pest, probably made about 3 or 4 tackles, including a sick move on a slide tackle with a steal and spin near the sideline that left the Uruguayan on the ground on the wrong side of the sideline and Arriola dribbling and then passing in an effort to quickly advance the ball.

People are going to be disappointed, but I would bet that Gregg was very pleased with Arriola's performance against Uruguay. 

 

Someone made this video of Arriola the other day, I was hesitant to post it, because I was afraid that it might offend some. But since he came back up ...

This is supposed to be his touches. I'm OK with that, BUT ...

• I think this video would be better if they included a lot more of the lead in play for some of these. Like 0:30, the ball is halfway to him when the clip starts, And 0:37 is the worst offender.
• I would also like to see some more of his off the ball movement. People sell me on what he was doing off the ball, so show me that.

That all said, this clip show maybe 1 or 2 positive plays and a lot of getting out muscled from the ball. 

 

What has really set off a lot of the non boob people is this review https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/usmnt-player-ratings-zimmerman-johnson-stand-out-in-tough-test-vs-uruguay 

Where they rate Nipple a 5.0,

"Arriola brought his typical industry and work rate to the match. He stretched the field with intelligent off-ball movement, but he couldn't pick out the right final ball into the box."

but give other players with far more impact similar ratings

Weah 5.5

"Weah is consistently the most dangerous attacker in a US shirt, but wasn't able to find the ball enough. The Lille attacker flashed a couple of attempts across goal and looks sure of his place on the right."

(at a minimum that should be 6.0 or 6.5.

 

They do get some right (Scally 3.5 fair) but miss others (Yedlin 5.5 and no mention of his save on the line).

[UDontKnow 10,451]

9 hours ago, Braff Zacklin said:

I've called you Lopez many times, even dating back TOS. Your handle is "Zepol" ... not much of a leap.

I've also called retsevlys "Sylvester" for the same reason. Don't really think that's doxxing anyone, but keep the bitch mode going, man.

 

9 hours ago, Zepol87 said:

No idea what the second name is at all but yea not personal at all lol. 

IIRC, if referring to Zepol by any other name, it should be 'Sancho'!

Guys you've been warned. Hide your wimmenz. 

[Captain Ron 12,932]

You know what I see when I watch Arriola play? I see Rudy.

Ok, the guy is a lot better than Rudy, but he is clearly out classed on the International field. But he works his tail off. And with his skill level he gets some results here and there.

And if he was just a touch better, I likely could be cool with him on this team. But the fact is that against guys like Uruguay, you watch him constantly get played off the ball left and right. The first half of this clip is literally him being played off by players with a hell of a lot more skill (and size), my analysis of that video:

• Good pass to spring the break, gets the ball back passes to absolutely no one, play dies
• played off the ball
• Muscled off the ball
• Ok pass
• Ok pass
• Pass turnover (horrible edit BTW)
• 0:39, a clip that he is never able to get the ball, maybe with a bit more skill he can, but the Uruguayan team never lets him
• does work to get possession
• Out worked for the ball, but forces the keeper to just bomb it away
• Chasing, but not a real threat
• And then the spin save on the side

BUT even that demonstrates his limits. This is what the field looks like when he gets the ball on the side.

His move? Pass it to Aaronson, who's then doubled by the two defenders and it results in the play kind of being squashed right there.

But look at all that space to his right!  Just take the ball straight at the goal. It would force the defense to make decisions and potentially the wrong one. If he gets both defenders on him, Aaronson is open. Or they would have an overload because Haji would be WIDE OPEN in the middle of the box.

And I know that he knows that because that's the move he did on that Dallas goal a few pages back.

But IMHO this just shows how this jump in level is too fast for him.

[ztejas 43,552]

3 hours ago, Captain Ron said:

What has really set off a lot of the non boob people is this review https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/usmnt-player-ratings-zimmerman-johnson-stand-out-in-tough-test-vs-uruguay 

Those are some extremely cunty ratings for a 0-0 draw against one of the best teams in the world. There's no way everyone was that bad in a game where we won possession, passes, pass accuracy and had just one fewer shot on goal and I found an xg of 1.24 to 1.36 - US to Uruguay. Just lazy fucking reporting. Taking a point off of a side like Uruguay would be a huge result in Qatar. If you think we should have lost that game 2-0 or something then you need to give Sean John higher than a 7.5 - especially when this is the blurb:

Quote

The New York City FC netminder was excellent with the ball at his feet and gave the USMNT another dimension in possession. Johnson capped off his strong showing with a ridiculous point-blank save in the second half to deny Uruguay from close range.

I continue to scratch my head at some people's concept of how match ratings work. 

[Coach pop a bitch 5,500]

Any chance Tillman gets PT tomorrow?

[Napoleon 8,707]

1 hour ago, Coach pop a bitch said:

Any chance Tillman gets PT tomorrow?

I would expect a lot of secondary guys to get time against Grenada . . .

. . . in Austin . . . 

. . . in the middle of a heat wave. 

. . . though I’m not sure that Tillman has ever experienced temperatures like this in his entire life. 

The team needed to have gone to Barton Springs today. Hope that Gio was able to get them over there in the afternoon to check out the talent.

[Brisketexan 105,463]

I would expect a lot of secondary guys to get time against Grenada . . .
. . . in Austin . . . 
. . . in the middle of a heat wave. 

. . . though I’m not sure that Tillman has ever experienced temperatures like this in his entire life. 
The team needed to have gone to Barton Springs today. Hope that Gio was able to get them over there in the afternoon to check out the talent.

We’ll be there tomorrow….god help us.

[mackavelli 183]

Shouldn’t be too bad for kickoff tomorrow. The stadium is well designed when there is a breeze.

[ztejas 43,552]

Oh wow - didn't realize it's at 9.

Yeah - it will be hot but not 6 pm hot. 

[shnsajax 3,592]

I would expect a lot of secondary guys to get time against Grenada . . .
. . . in Austin . . . 
. . . in the middle of a heat wave. 

. . . though I’m not sure that Tillman has ever experienced temperatures like this in his entire life. 
The team needed to have gone to Barton Springs today. Hope that Gio was able to get them over there in the afternoon to check out the talent.

Damn and I was pissed at 3 days in a row in the 80’s here in Boise.

[shnsajax 3,592]

Cowell on the u20 roster. Thought he was flirting with Mexico.

[Captain Ron 12,932]

Jesus Christ, there is a Sounders media guy that is arguing that Roldon deserves a spot in Qatar, and basically saying that unless Gio is 100% he isn't guaranteed a spot. This guy is nuts.

 

 

[Captain Ron 12,932]

 

Spoiler

 

 

[Napoleon 8,707]

3 hours ago, shnsajax said:

Cowell on the u20 roster. Thought he was flirting with Mexico.
 

Cade Cowell has been in the USMNT setup for a while. I would think that at least one game was an official match trying to qualify for the U-17 World Cup.

If so, he is locked into the USMNT program until he files for a “one time switch”.

He is less of a cultural fit for México than I am for Argentina. There is almost no way that he would play for El Tri, but getting his passport puts pressure on the USMNT to keep an eye on him and give him camp call ups. 

Now, if México qualifies for the 2024 Olympics and we do not, then there may be stronger flirtation with México… if El Tri y amigos are even interested. But nothing would be considered until the new year.

 I don’t know where he fits in for the USMNT or México. I think that he is like a younger, less skilled Jordan Morris. That isn’t where the US soccer trajectory is headed. (And México was never heading there.)

[The Dog 44,171]

 

[ztejas 43,552]

"the manager isn't quite as dumb as some of us were thinking he was"